1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a terminal receiving block which has a pluggable connector provided at one end thereof. The pluggable connector is electrically connected to terminals, each terminal has at least one wire receiving slot provided at an end thereof for the insertion of respective wires therethrough.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many instances where terminal blocks are set up in arrays for receipt of wires therein. Many of these terminal blocks are simply threaded members fixed with insulation material which receive wires either wrapped around the threaded members and secured thereto by an application of a nut, or the wires are terminated by known spade or ring terminals and then secured to the threaded member by a nut. While these have, in some instances, provided effective means for termination, they have not always been convenient for installation, maintenance, or repair and they frequently are subjected to environmental degradation with a resulting loss of desired electrical characteristics.
There is a need, predominantly within the telecommunications industry for reusable terminals, and terminals which can accommodate more than one conductor size. The telephone wires coming from the phone company can either be in the form of buried cable or aerial wires. The terminal blocks would be mounted in either an enclosure on the aerial mount, or in an enclosed pedestal affixed to the ground, or on a pole. As new telephones are installed in a selected locality, the phone wires are then terminated to the respective terminals on the high density array.
As the terminals can be used over many cycles, there is a possibility of damaging a respective terminal or terminal block. Consequently, there is a need to provide a terminal block which can be easily removed and replaced with minimal effort and minimal tooling. This is of particular importance because the terminal blocks are provided in field locations, i.e. on poles, etc. However, the present devices are not easily replaced.
There is also a need, particularly in applications in which the terminals are to be terminated in the field, for the terminals to be easily installed. As many wires are required for operation, it is essential that the installation of the wires be accomplished with minimal effort and minimal tooling. However, the present devices are not easily installed, and consequently, the cost of the installation is significant.
While the preferred embodiment of connector disclosed herein is for telecommunications applications, for example for electrical interconnection of tip and ring voice signals, the invention could be used with other wire sizes and in other applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,247 shows an insulated terminal and module, however the shell of the terminal only includes one wire opening for insulation displacement.
Other previous designs are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,637,675 and 4,705,340 where stationary terminals are located within housings and rotatable caps are placed over the terminals. Rotation of the cap causes the wires within the caps to be rotated into the stationary insulation displacement portions. While the previous versions shown in the '675 and '340 patents are excellent designs, these designs include shortcomings which have been addressed by the instant design.
A major shortcoming with respect to the prior art connectors relates to the ease of installation and repair. In order for the terminal blocks to be connected to the system, there is a need for labor intensive operations. The wires which extend from the bottom of the terminals must be spliced to appropriate wires of the cable. This is very time consuming and difficult, particularly in field applications.
The newly designed terminal and connector which we have invented has rectified these earlier shortcomings and is summarily explained below.